LONDON, United Kingdom (17 October 2022) – We are pleased to announce the Arcus results in the GRESB, PRI and UK Stewardship Code ESG assessment and benchmarking initiatives.
GRESB
Arcus Infrastructure Partners (“Arcus”) has been named Sector Leader in the respected 2022 GRESB Infrastructure Assessment, in the Global Transport Fund sector category and in the European regional sector category. Several Arcus assets have also been recognised as Sector Leaders and Most Improved participants in the 2022 awards.
“This is brilliant news for the Arcus team and our investee companies. We are proud to be continuously recognised by GRESB for our ESG leadership. These strong results are a testament to the Asset Management teams and our Portfolio companies who continue to prioritise best practice ESG management and performance.” says Ian Harding, Managing Partner.
Each year GRESB assesses and benchmarks the ESG performance of real assets worldwide. The GRESB assessments are guided by what investors and the industry consider to be material issues in sustainable performance of real asset investments and are aligned with international reporting frameworks, goals and emerging regulations.
Once again, Arcus has demonstrated “best-in-class” ESG performance with Arcus European Trains (the Alpha Trains holding partnership or “AET”) ranking first of 117 infrastructure funds which completed the full GRESB assessment, scoring 100 out of 100 possible points (compared to 96/100 in 2021). This impressive score also meant that AET has been named GRESB Infrastructure Sector Leader in the following two categories: Europe and Global Transport. Alpha Trains came first out of the entire universe of 649 participating assets, a fantastic result, and was also awarded two Sector Leader awards for the overall Transport sector and for Rail Companies.
A1 Investor Vehicle (the GTC holding partnership) and Tivana Investor Vehicles (the TDF holding partnerships) were ranked 2nd and 3rd respectively out of all 117 infrastructure funds.
AEIF2 has been ranked fourth in the European Diversified Infrastructure Funds category (against 26 peers who participated in the full GRESB 2022 assessment). AEIF2 received a 4-star GRESB rating this year, up from a 3-star rating in the 2021 assessment.
AEIF2 scored 91 out of 100 possible points (compared to 82/100 in 2021) in the GRESB fund assessment, well above the 2022 average fund participant’s score of 82/100.
The AEIF2 assets scored well when benchmarked against their respective peer groups. Swiss4net ranked first against six fibre network peers and Horizon and Constellation both saw significant improvements in their 2022 scores. Horizon was also awarded the ‘Most Improved 2022’ award for the Network Utilities sector. Peacock and SMA participated in the assessment for the first time this year and received good initial performance scores. Improvements in the GRESB asset scores demonstrate the commitment Arcus and portfolio companies have made to continuous ESG improvements and the various changes implemented throughout the year to improve sustainability.
Arcus joined GRESB in March 2017, with all Arcus investee companies participating since 2017 and Arcus has been a member of the GRESB Infrastructure Standards Committee since October 2018.
“This year’s participation growth across the real estate and infrastructure benchmarks underscores the continued and unwavering commitment of the global real assets industry to ESG transparency and sustainability” says GRESB. “GRESB Sector Leaders are the top-performing organizations leading the way to a net-zero future and pulling the industry forward. We applaud this year’s Sector Leaders for their commitment, leadership, and dedication to ESG and sustainability.”
Other ESG benchmark initiatives
In addition to GRESB results, Arcus is also pleased to announce that it has been awarded 5* ratings in the 2021 United Nations PRI ESG assessment for the Investment & Stewardship Policy and Infrastructure modules. Arcus scored 97/100 in the Investment & Stewardship Policy which all signatories must complete and 100/100 in the Infrastructure asset class module, which both represent 5* ratings.
Lastly on 7 September 2022 the UK Financial Reporting Council (“FRC”) re-confirmed Arcus as a signatory to the UK Stewardship Code (“the Code”) for the reporting period of 1 January to 31 December 2021 as published on the FRC website https://www.frc.org.uk/investors/uk-stewardship-code/uk-stewardship-code-signatories.
Arcus’ ESG and external benchmark approach
ESG and responsible investment continue to feature at the forefront of the work that we do at Arcus, and external benchmarks and verification assist us to report our ESG performance and aid our engagement with investee companies to drive improvements. We are committed to improving the sustainable operations of Arcus and of our investee companies.
“We are particularly pleased with the Alpha Trains and AET top-ranking scores in the 2022 GRESB assessment, but also the score improvements in the AEIF2 portfolio performance. The performance across our assets and funds is evidence of the benefits of the Arcus ESG approach for collaboration with investee company management teams to drive change and implement ESG improvements” says Neil Krawitz, Arcus Head of ESG. “Best practice ESG management continues to evolve, and more work is required to achieve high performance in ESG benchmarks such as GRESB, PRI and the UK Stewardship Code. Arcus continuously strives to improve its approach and I’m proud that we have achieved this recognition again in 2022“.
About Arcus
Arcus Infrastructure Partners is an independent fund manager focused solely on long-term investments in European infrastructure. Arcus invests on behalf of institutional investors through discretionary funds and special co-investment vehicles and, through its subsidiaries, currently manages investments with an aggregate enterprise value of around EUR 19bn (as of 30 June 2022). Arcus targets mid-market, value-add infrastructure investments, with a particular focus on businesses in the transportation, energy, logistic & industrial and digital sectors. www.arcusip.com
About GRESB
GRESB is a mission-driven and industry-led organization providing standardized and validated Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) data to financial markets. Established in 2009, GRESB has become the leading ESG benchmark for real estate and infrastructure investments across the world, used by 170 institutional and financial investors to inform decision-making. The Infrastructure Fund Assessment grew by 11% in 2022 to cover 166 funds (up from 149 last year), and the Infrastructure Asset Assessment grew by 18% to include 649 assets (up from 549). The Infrastructure Benchmark now covers $662 billion of AuM at the fund level and $1.1 trillion of AuM at the asset level.
About PRI
PRI is the world’s leading proponent of responsible investment. It works to understand the investment implications of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors, and to support its international network of investor signatories in incorporating these factors into their investment and ownership decisions. Arcus joined UN PRI as a member in March 2017, adhering to the six UNPRI principles and participating in annual reporting.
About UK Stewardship Code 2020
The UK Stewardship Code 2020 sets high stewardship standards for those investing money on behalf of UK savers and pensioners, and those that support them. Stewardship is the responsible allocation, management and oversight of capital to create long-term value for clients and beneficiaries leading to sustainable benefits for the economy, the environment and society. The Code comprises a set of 12 ‘apply and explain’ Principles for asset managers and asset owners, and a separate set of six Principles for service providers. Arcus first became a signatory to the previous UK Stewardship Code in March 2010 and the revised code since 2021. The Arcus Stewardship Report is available on the Arcus and FRC websites and provides a summary of the Arcus approach to the Principles of the Code and explanations of the stewardship activities we undertake annually.
Media Contacts for Arcus:
| Dylan Macdonald
E: dylan@sprengthomson.com T: +44 7740 546030 |
Callum Spreng
T: +44 7803 970103 |
